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I've found that the cheapo printers are the worst value, as they often come with combined CMY cartridges and they and the black ink doesn't last that long, even worse for rarely used printers because they often use ink on the startup printhead test or when you carry out a test on a blank sheet if it hasn't been used for a good while.
I've got a MF printer (Canon MAXIFY MB5350*) with the 4 separate cartridges and XL ones at that (the OEMS were of the short filled type as usual and last a very short time). The price of them was (Amazon, 2019) £65. Not cheap, but should last a decent time if they don't dry out.
Good print quality and has all those functions you spoke of plus a photocopier/scanner with an ADF so I don't have to keep turning double-sided documents over to copy/scan them. I never looked at getting generic ink cartridge replacements though. My local stationer sold the Canon ones for £90+ for the set.
I bought it in 2017 - not cheap at (on offer then in Office World) £170. I too remember at work all the best inkjet printers being Canons with separate cartidges.
Unfortunately, prices of replacement ink is always extortionate, often more than the cost of many printers at the budget end of the market (I originally bought an HP flatbed multifunction printer/scanner with 2 cartidges when I bought my PC back in 2011 - it was a waste of time as it was unreliable and the ink never lasted, often going dry).
Thus far, the Canon one has done much better. The downside for me is that printing is slow (it takes an age to process, especially the first print - actual printing iteself is quick). The problem is always what to do when (like you and now me [I used to use mine a LOT before I jacked in my career]) usage is likely yo be low, but you want decent quality prints and a MFD.
* obviously there is a new version available, but likely at vastly inflated prices due to the pandemic chip shortage and logistical issues. I don't envy your choice under the circumstances! Best of luck.
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